The Palisades School Board last night approved the purchase of 11 new buses to upgrade the district's ailing fleet.

The $322,460 expenditure will get the district eight 72-passenger diesel buses, two 1986 20-passenger gasoline buses, and a used 1985 gasoline 27- passenger bus.

The board also appointed non-voting member Thomas Cline to the voting position vacated last month by Region III director Robert Morris.

While the bids were awarded unanimously, board member Marcia Yeager questioned whether the buses are equipped with seat belts and a backup warning signal.

Superintendent Thomas W. Free said the buses have neither safety feature, but do meet state standards.

Seat belts in school buses, Free said, "have been the subject of substantial discussion" with "mixed evidence about their desirability."

However, the lack of discussion on the merits of seat belts in the Palisades district prompted Yeager to request that the board's record show more discussion would have been desirable. "I don't want to vote against the buses but I want it in the record," Yeager commented.

In response to a request by Yeager, Free said he would investigate whether the buses still can be fitted with beeping warning signals for when the buses back up.

In selecting diesel buses instead of gas, Free said the decision was based on two factors. First, he said, diesel fuel mileage was nearly double that of gas-run buses, and second, they require far fewer tune-ups and would therefore save money on maintenance.

However, additional expenditures will be needed to train the district's mechanics to repair diesel vehicles. That cost, Free said, will be nominal.

Noting he has pushed for the acquisition of new buses since becoming superintendent, Free lauded the board for finally taking steps to improve the district's transportation.

"We will be able to keep a quality fleet in a cost-effective manner," Free said.

In purchasing new vehicles rather than used ones, district Business Manager Lisa Groff said the cost of the newer vehicles should be offset by a one-year warranty on the buses.

Four 72-passenger buses leased by the district last year will be returned, and another four buses with more than 150,000 miles on each will be taken out of operation, according to Free.

In other business, Cline, a non-voting member of the board since he was appointed secretary in December, said he felt the appointment would strengthen the position of secretary and make time spent on district matters more "worthwhile."

"I feel it is a much better use of my time being a director as well as secretary," he said.

Cline served a four-year term from Region III until last year, after he had become an engineer with the Tobyhanna Army Depot. Because of his change in employment to become a federal employee, Cline said, he is not permitted to engage in partisan politics.